Publishing While Female: are Women Held to Higher Standards? Evidence from Peer Review

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hengel, Erin
• 署名单位: University of London; University College London
• 刊物名称: ECONOMIC JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0013-0133
• DOI: 10.1093/ej/ueac032
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 2951-2991
• 关键词: gender-differences; ECONOMICS; gap; DISCRIMINATION; performance; profession; journals; science; TENURE; biases

摘要

Female authors are under-represented in top economics journals. In this paper, I investigate whether higher writing standards contribute to the problem. I find that (i) female-authored papers are 1%-6% better written than equivalent papers by men; (ii) the gap widens during peer review; (iii) women improve their writing as they publish more papers (but men do not); (iv) female-authored papers take longer under review. Using a subjective expected utility framework, I argue that higher writing standards for women are consistent with these stylised facts. A counterfactual analysis suggests that senior female economists may, as a result, write at least 5% more clearly than they otherwise would. As a final exercise, I show tentative evidence that women adapt to biased treatment in ways that may disguise it as voluntary choice.